Distance from Church to Reception

stevjess

Need some opinions here ladies,

So I have found my dream reception spot!  Problem is it’s like 45 minutes away from the church me and my fiancé belong to and were planning on being married at. I am planning on a 3 o clock wedding with the reception not beginning until 6. Normally in my family between weddings we find a half-way point to meet and have drinks, etc. While the wedding party takes photos and such.  Most of my family is from the area where the reception is but my fiancé’s family is from the area the church is. I just can’t decide if I should give up on my reception site or not? I don’t want to inconvenience my family but at the same time it really is exactly what I am looking for. HELP!

thetrumegz

A lot of people don't go to the wedding and just go to the reception. Even if you think everyone is going to attend both that's really okay. 45 minutes really isn't that far away.
This is your day and you described this as your "dream" site. that is all that should matter.

My wedding ceremony and reception sites are 30 minutes from eachother. I suggested to the guests to use a hotel inbetween the two (and listed some for them) so they have a place to go between the events.

Maybe you could just make some suggestions of things to do between your events?

dogsandfrogs

I don't know what kind of weddings you've been to thetrumegz, but I've never heard of that being common practice, nor seen it in action.  I've seen it happen with 2 couples, and that was because of car trouble.

45 minutes is kind of pushing it.  It kind of depends on what area the church is actually in.  If it takes 45 minutes to get somewhere decent that's one thing, but if you just like this one better, that's another.  I know it's hard to give up on your dream reception venue, but it's not fair to your guests that you're requiring them to drive that far to get between your ceremony and your reception.

As for this being "your" day, it stops being "your" day the moment you invite people to share it with you.  If you're inviting people to come bear witness to your marriage, you need to keep them in mind when making decisions.  A wedding is not a party.  It is a celebration of marriage, and the reception is a thank you to your guests for sharing that celebration of your love with you.

stevjess

Thanks for the advice ladies, the problem I am running into is that there is really no reception venues near my church or at least any affordable ones, so I just thought why not go with the venue I really want at that point? And I completely understand about being fair to your guests I know my guests would love this venue however and as I said inthe original post it's probably only about 20 minutes from my side of the family's homes so it wouldn't be a bad drive home for them just from the ceremony to the reception and they do have a few hours to kill in between.

dogsandfrogs

Your side of the family wouldn't have a big drive after the reception, but your post makes it sound like it would be a long drive for FI's family, and you make no mention of your other guests.